Gardensafari Birds (with lots of pictures) SUPPORT GARDENSAFARI Birds [All pictures of garden wildlife on this page are thumbnails. Click on any thumbnail for a large format to be displayed. The animal's English name is usually specified, provided it has one. The scientific name is always mentioned in the caption of the photograph. Click on for sound. For more information on a species click on a bird's name. You will be given a separate page containing more information about the bird's habits, the eggs, extra pictures and also its sound (if available).] This page is divided into chapters, of which the first covers the subject of passerine birds and is by far the biggest. That chapter is divided into 7 smaller ones to keep navigation possible. In the chapter exotic birds we tell you about escaped species. It is doubtful, to say the least, whether these creatures stand a chance to survive in the wild in this part of the world.

Contents: 1 Passerine Birds , 2 Pigeons , 3 Woodpeckers , 4 Plovers 5 Exotic Birds , 6 Water Birds and 7 Other Birds 1 Passerine Birds Contents: 1.1 Thrushes , 1.2 Sparrows , 1.3 Titmice , 1.4 Finches , 1.5 Warblers , 1.6 Crows and Jays and 1.7 Other Passerine Birds . 1.1 Thrushes (Turdidae) This is a large family of passerine birds. In general most of its members eat worms and insects. In colder areas they eat nuts and sometimes in winter also berries. Most thrushes have long and pointed beaks. All just hatched thrushes are very speckled. A number of species, such as the Robin and the Blackbird, loose their speckles when they reach the adult age. Others, like the Song Thrush and the Mistle Thrush remain speckled all their life. In the Netherlands the Blackbird is the most common bird.

It is estimated that there are around 3.5 milion of them, thus making it even more common than the House Sparrow! The male Blackbird is black indeed with a striking yellow beak. The female is brown with a less striking brown beak. Female Blackbirds (Turdus merula) are brown and not black at all!. The male is in the picture to your left, the female in the picture to your right. Another well-known thrush is the Song Thrush. The majority of thrushes sing beautifully, but the Song Thrush is a credit to its name. Gardeners are happy with Song Thrushes in their neighbourhood because these birs eat snails. The Redwing looks like the Song Thrush very much, but has a red spot around the wing. This species breeds in Scandinavia but spends the winters in Western- and Southern Europe. In the Benelux you can see a lot of them during the migration season in autumn (especially in October and November). (Turdus philomelos), to the left and the Redwing (Turdus iliacus), to the right look rather similar. One of the best known birds in the garden is the Robin.

You can often see it from close by as it is not shy at all. Adults have the well known red breast. Males and females look identical and both have their own territory during winter, which they will defend. That's why both sexes sing, which is rare in the world of birds. And what's more: they sing nearly all year round. The young are very speckled, thus showing they actually belong to the Thrushes family. The Robin (Erithacus rubecula), to the left a chick, is a forward and even curious little bird. Other thrushes in our garden include the Mistle Thrush , the Nightingale , the Redstart and the Fieldfare . At the moment we have no good pictures available. 1.2 Sparrows (Passeridae) Once the House Sparrow was the most numerous bird in the Netherlands. But those days are over. Nowadays we contruct and isolate our houses in a different way than in the past and, consequently, there is no place or hole in the roof for the House Sparrow to build its nest. The number of House Sparrows in Holland dropped considerably over the past few years. And not only in Holland, but in Belgium and England as well.

In England the species has even been put on the red list of endangered species! The male, below to your right, is richly marked and has a beautiful ash grey cap. The female, depicted below to your left, is less colourful and her cap is like the rest of the body covered with pale browns and beiges. The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is becoming something of a rarity nowadays. Picture's: $ We don't see many House Sparrows around because we live in a small village in a rural arae with lots of forests. That's the territory of the Tree Sparrows. Both species belong to a mainly tropical family of birds. Most of its members build huge and complicated nests. The House Sparrow very rarely builds such a complicated nest in the trees but mainly it nests under the tiles of roofs etc. The Tree Sparrow never weaves a nest for it is a real hole-nesting bird. By the way: in Northern America this family of birds is better known as the Weaver Finches. Usually over there the name sparrows is used to refer to the family of American Sparrows (Emberizidae), non of which live in Europe, let alone in our garden.

In winter the Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) often appears in large numbers. The Hedge Sparrow looks like both species of Sparrows and even shares the same name but actually it belongs to an entire different family of birds. 1.3 Titmice (Paridae) Titmice (or simply Tits), are referred to in Northern America as Chickadees as well. In summer they fly about rather unnoticed but as soon as winter comes you will see them virtually everywhere. A number of species can become really tame. Tits are intelligent birds that over the years adapted themselves to the changing environment. For instance they learned how to open milk bottles to get into the tasty cream on top of milk. Most Titmice are resident birds that don't migrate at all or, if they do, it travels short distances only. The best known Tit is perhaps the Great Tit. Like most Tits this is a hole nesting bird. It often competes with the Blue Tit over the ownership of a good nesting hole. And because the Great Tit is just a tiny bit bigger (and stronger) it usually triumphs. All titmice eat insects, spiders and larvae in spring and summer, but switch to berries and nuts once winter approaches.

To the left the Great Tit (Parus major) and to the right a Blue Tit (Nowadays: Cyanistes caeruleus, used to be Parus caeruleus). There are two more Tits that frequent our garden. They are less colourful however. The Marsh Tit is just as cheeky as the two blue species. Going from east to west in the Benelux the bird becomes less common. The Crested Tit only lives in woody areas. It prefers older pines and is therefore less common. If the crested Tit visits your garden it won't be very shy but it's also less forward than the three species already mentioned. Two more frequent visitors to out feeding stand: the Marsh Tit (Nowadays: Poecile palustris, used to be Parus palustris) and the Crested Tit (Nowadays: Lophophanes cristatus, used to be Parus cristatus). The smallest Titmouse in Central Europe is the Coal Tit below. It is even slightly smaller than the Blue Tit is. It is not a very striking bird, but can easily be recognized as it really lokks like any other Tit and has a unique big black cap showing a white line in the middle.

Its song is soft and not very special, but it sings all year round. And it is not only the male that sings, the females sing just as much. The species lives on pines, so probably it will not turn up in everyone's garden. The Coal Tit is not shy at all, but it is difficult to take a good picture of the animal as it is rather restless. When it visits our feeding table it gives the impression of being nervous and moves frantically. It is mare calm when sitting on a baggy of peanuts. The picture below is not of the best quality, alas. A very nervous species: the Coal Tit (Periparus ater, but used to be Parus ater). Even though it bears the word Tit in its name, the Long-tailed Tit actually is not a Titmouse at all but it belongs to its own family of Passerine Birds. 1.4 Finches (Fringillidae) Many finches are beautiful, colourful and skillful singing birds. Seeds are their main source of food which you can tell by looking at their beak: short, thick and strong, able to crack all kind of seeds and nuts. Chaffinches are common birds all over Europe.

In Western Europe they are especially seen in winter when they are less shy and because there are simply more of them in one place. Lots of Chaffinches from Scandinavia migrate to Western Europe in winter. Even the Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) loves to sing from a high position. To the right a young male, not fully coloured yet. The Greenfinch is not as shy as the Chaffinch especially during the breeding season. The bird is very fond of rose-hips and will do everything to get them! The green and yellow colours of the Greenfinch are less prominent during winter. The Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) often is a bit pale in winter. Another regular guest in my garden during winter is the Siskin. It breeds in this part of Europe in small numbers as it actually a bird to be found in pine forests in Northern Europe and Scotland. In winter these birds travel from southwards to England and the Benelux. The bird is not very shy, but it moves a lot which makes it difficult to photograph. In all pictures of the species on our pages a male is depicted. The female is darker, with less yellow colouring.

Siskins (Carduelis spinus) are regular visitors to our garden in winter. Goldfinch is a rare visitor in my garden even though this is a rather common bird in this part of the world. The bird prefers more open surroundings and mild climate. It can be found in all parts of Europe except for in colder parts of Scandinavia. The contrasty colours of Goldfinch make it easy to spot this bird in the garden. Other finches that appear in my garden are the Bullfinch , the Brambling ,and the Linnet . Alas, I do not have pictures of these species available yet. 1.5 Warblers (Sylviidae) Warblers are very small birds. Most of them are very dull and some species are very hard to tell apart. All warblers are insect eaters. Most of them come to Europe in summer to breed and in autumn they leave again for Africa. The Chiffchaff below looks very much like the Willow Warbler , which is not depicted here. Even experts listen to them rather than look at them in order to tell them apart. The Willow Worbler is an excellent singer, but the Chiffchaff only says...

chiff chaff (Hey, what else should a Chiffchaff say!). The Gold Crest is the smallest bird in the Benelux, weighing about 5 grams only. Gold Crests do not migrate and stay in Europe during winter. Then they regularly mix up with tits and finches. (Phylloscopus collybita) is a very dull bird, but the Gold Crest (Regulus regulus) has quite striking colours. The Blackcap is a frequent visitor of the garden in summer. Its modest colours make it difficult for the photographer to notice that it is actually an interesting bird. 1.6 Crows and Jays (Corvidae) Most Passerine Birds sing beautifully. So it is amazing that the Crow family also belongs to the Passerine Birds: the sounds they utter vary from awful to horrible. The Crow is a very large, black bird. To be precise, the beak is black in Western Europe but in Central and Eastern Europe it is grey and black and the bird is called the Hooded Crow. Strangely enough, Hooded Crows also live in Ireland and Northern Scotland. In other parts of the UK one finds black crows only.

It is not very important though as both birds belong to one and the same species. The Magpie is black and white and quite beautiful. Many owners of gardens don't think very positive about this animal because it regularly distroys the nests of smaller Passerine birds and eating their young. On the other hand: the young of the Magpie have to eat as well, don't they? Carrion Crow (or Black Crows) in photo to the left and Hooded Crows in the middle belong to the same species: Corvus corone. Magpies (photo to the right) are not shy really, but they keep their distance from humans. The Jackdaw is very rare in our garden. There are lots of them not far from our house but they seem to avoid our garden. It is the smallest Crow in Western Europe. Because we live in an area with lots of woodlands we see the Jay almost daily. Its main interest seems to be the water in the pond. (Corvus monedula) to the left and the Jay (Garrulus glandarius) to the right visit our garden irregularly. Other members of the Crow family in our garden are the Rook and the Nutcracker .

We have no acceptable pictures of these species yet. 1.7 Other Passerine Birds The Passerine birds below all belong to various families and we can not group them in any other way. The Nuthatch (family Sittidae - Nuthatchers) can be a very common bird in your garden, provided there are many trees in the vicinity. The Nuthatch can climb trees but not only that - he can also descend trees with its head pointed downward which is very unique. It feeds mainly on insect and their larvae that live in wood. In winter it eagerly takes the food you offer on a bird feeder. The Hedge Sparrow (family Prunellidae - Hedge Sparrows) resembles other sparrows but actually it is not even closely related to them. It has the same pattern of stripes and colours but, concluding from the shape of the beak, it eats mainly insects. The bird is not shy at all and it is often erroneously assumed to be an ordinary sparrow and as such gets unnoticed. (Sitta europaea) to the left and the Hedge Sparrow (Prunella modularis) to the right are insect eaters mainly.

When a bird is called Hedge Sparrows, one automatically assumes, wrongfully, that it is a sparrow. The same goes for the Long-tailed Tit. It belongs to its own family (Aegithalidae - Bush Tits) and is not closely related to the real Tits at all. Anyway, the first part of the name is highly accurate, for the Long-tailed Tit has a very long tail indeed. The animal lives in a kind of family structure and is seldom seen on its own. Long-tailed Tits (Aegithalos caudatus) always live in small groups. The Starling (family Sturnidae - Starlings) is another well known bird. You might not be so fond of Starlings because they often come in large flocks and in no time at all they eat the cherries off your cherry trees. The same flocks however display breathtaking shows of synchronous flying in autumn. The Starling on the picture has fresh feathers and therefore looks extremely speckled. The speckles wear off later showing a green metallic colour. The Pied Flycatcher (family Muscicapidae - Fly Catchers) breeds in our garden regularly. The male arrives from Africa about two weeks before the female does.

It spends these two weeks looking for a good nesting place (often a nesting box, which the species adopts without hesitation). When it has found a suitable one, it stays around, singing a lot. First of all to scare away other males, secondly to lure the arriving females. Upon hearing his song the females carefully inspect the place he found. If the female approves the site both birds form a couple. Otherwise she will leave and he will have to wait for the next female he can lure to his residence... (Sturnus vulgaris) to the left rarely visits our garden, but the Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) even breeds here. In 2003 our first pipit (family Motacillidae) turned up. It was sitting on the ground, could be appraoched easily, performed his role as photo model very well and then took off. In close up this turns out to be a beautiful bird as well. Usually you do not get a chance for a close look like this. The Tree Pipit and the Meadow Pipit are two look-a-likes. Two experts however confirmed our impression that in this case we are talking about a Tree Pipit.

This is a very common bird all over Europe, including most of Britain. Very beautiful in a close up: the Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis) The Wren, also known as Winter Wren or European Wren, is one of the smallest birds in Europe. It looks quite funny: a round body and a very small tail that is held upright most of the time. It is often seen running through high vegetation in a mouse-like way. In our garden it seldom comes to our feeding table and if it does the visits are very brief. The Wren is the only European representative of the Wren family (Troglodytidae). The picture below is of rather poor quality, alas. This bird is called the Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), for it even sings in winter. An occasional guest making acrobaric flights above the garden is Barn Swallow (family Hirundinidae - Swallows). It is very fast so rather difficult to capture with a camera. Luckily, I've managed to take pictures of swallows when visiting Batavia shipyard in Lelystad in the Netherlands where they seemed to be less shy. Also from close by Barn Swallow is a surprisingly beautiful bird.

There are other passerine birds in our garden, like White Wagtail (family Motacillidae - Pipits and Wagtails), Small Flycatcher (family Muscicapidae - Fly-catchers) and the Short-toed Tree Creeper (family Certhidae - Creepers). Up till now I have not managed to take good pictures of these birds. 2 Pigeons (Columbidae) Lots of people keep pigeons either because of their beautiful looks or because of the Pigeons ability to return home from afar (Homing Pigeons). In the past there was another reason for keeping pigeons, especially in France, pigeaon meat was considered a delicatecy! Many of these pigeons escaped and mixed with pigeons that lost their way to create a new species: the Town Pigeon. Thus we have no idea whether the one below is such a Town Pigeon or if this is a resting Homing Pigeon. This could be a Homing Pigeon that got lost on the way, or is resting for a bit.

There are two species of wild pigeons in our garden: the small, forward and dull Collared Dove and the big and very shy Woodpigeon. Both species are very fond of our pond. Pigeons are remarkable birds indeed because they can actually drink water. In order to get some water most other birds just put their beak into the water and then throw their heads backwards. Pigeons don't do this, they just drink, which you can tell by the movements in their throats. Both species have a terrible monotonous song. The Woodpigeon is popular among meat eaters: weasels, goshawks and even humans appreciate them culinarily. (Columba palumbus) and the Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) are very common in our garden. 3 Woodpeckers (Picidae) Even though Woodpeckers are well known birds, most often you can hear them before you can actually spot them. They live of the larvae of beetles that live in wood. In order to reach them they hew holes in trees and that's what you hear. Sometimes they simply strike the tree just for the fun of the sound of it.

It's also their way of communication. They do make other sounds as well: they 'laugh' loudly. The Great Spotted Woodpecker is a common species in gardens and in winter it will take food from your bird feeder. The Green Woodpecker is a rare species. Unlike the other woodpeckers it is entirely dependant on ants. It visits our garden rarely to eat some of the ants that live in the grassfield. To the left a young Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) and to the right the very common Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major). The enormous Black Woodpecker visited my garden only once and I was just too late to grab my camera and take a picture of it. 4 Plovers (Charadriidae) An interesting bird is the Northern Lapwing (family Charadriidae - Plovers), that in spring time often flies over my garden screaming the shrieking 'peewit'. 5 Exotic Birds These are birds that appeared in our garden but actually should not have. Most are escapees from cages, breeders etc. and cannot really survive in the wild.

Usually the winters are too cold for them (like for the Rosella) or there is not enough suitable food available for them, like for the Peafowl. Other species however are able to live through winters and some species may even become "European" birds, like the Mandarin Duck. The two female Peafowls in the pictures below suddenly and unexpectedly turned up in our garden. They wandered off from the neighbours' garden and into ours. They had quite lucky that day as our bird feeder just fell apart of misery and old age while a lot of bird food was still on it. Needless to add that the Peafowls had a dinner party there! The species below is known as the Indian Peafowl. It usually is blueish, especially the male, but the famous White Peafowl belongs to this species as well. Turning up in our garden by surprise: two hens of the Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus). The Mandarin Duck (family Anatidae) one day suddenly came to our pond and left some two weeks later. The duck does not originally belong in Europe but humans imported it from China. The male has a very beautifully coloured pattern on its feathers.

Some animals escape or are set free and in certain areas of Europe and the animal now lives in there in the wild. We have no idea whether the female depicted below is such a wild descendant or if is a bird on the run. The Crimson Rosella (family Platyceridae - Rosellas) certainly is a bird that got astray, for this relative of the parakeet (it is not a parrot) from Australia will never survive the winters in Europe. To the left a female Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) and to the right a Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans) that probably escaped. 6 Water Birds Sea Gulls are among the best known birds in the countries adjacent to the North Sea. Most species are confined to the coastal areas but the Black-headed Gull (family Laridae - Gulls) lives all over Europe. From time to time it visists our garden. On the lawn it behaves like a Blackbird: it walks about quickly, hoping for some Earth Worms to surface. Young Blakheaded Gulls are without the black cap and so are adults in winter.

The big Grey Heron (family Ardeidae - Herons and Bitterns) actually is a very unwelcome visitor to our garden, for it is after the life in our pond, including our beautiful fish and the frogs. The Grey Heron is a migrating bird, even though some colonies, especially in the western part of Holland, do not migrate any longer. They find food in abundance there that they do not need to move. The majestic White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) was almost extinct in the Netherlands only 30 years ago. The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) is after our fish! Black-headed Gulls (Larus ridibundus) are elegant flyers indeed. 7 Other Birds There are still some birds that do sometimes pop up in the garden. First of all we had the Northern Goshawk (family Accipitridae - Hawks) in our garden once. It had just caught a woodpigeon. We quickly made an attempt to take a picture but with not a good result. Another irregular guest that flashes through the garden from time to time is the Common Kestrel (family Falconidae - Falcons) hunting for a blackbird or some other small bird.

Sounds ï¿½ CLM "&" Vogelbescherming Nederland, used here by kind permission. winter migrants Article Winter Migrants During the winter months many species of bird leave their breeding grounds and travel to the UK, it is reckoned around 5 million waterfowl use the UK in the winter. Most are coming from colder climates and come here for the warmer weather!, I know it doesn't feel that warm to us, but to many of the birds such as wild geese who are coming down from the Arctic and Greenland it is warmer. There are others who come across from Scandinavia, Europe and the south to feast on our fallen fruit and berries in the hedgerows. This annual and seasonal activity is referred to as Winter Migration. Definition: Migration - an activity taken on by the worlds bird population. Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of birds and this can be caused by changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Some migration by some species is irregular or in only one direction however Migration is used to identify that it is an annual event. There are many wildfowl and wetland birds who make epic journeys to get here and some may not make it here at all.

When they arrive, their main aim is to feed up during the winter months on our grasslands, salt marshes and lagoons to give them strength to make the return journey in the Spring so that they can rear their next brood. Winter migration starts to take place from September and some of the birds stop off in Scotland before making their way to their favourite feeding grounds. It is believed that some return to the same sites each year. Many of them then stay around until March or April the following year. The spectacular thing about these migrations is that the birds get here at all. They have to battle against all the weathers and some do get thrown off course, and when they get here they have to identify their favourite feeding ground and hope they don't get picked off by one of our native predator birds on the way. Probably the most spectacular sight is the large numbers of birds in the sky as they travel in large flocks or skeins together, and different species have different ways and formats of doing this.

So what types of birds visit us during the winter Well the largest of them is the Swan and two breeds are regular visitors to the UK these are the Bewicks' Swans and these can been seen in large numbers at places such as Slimbridge WWT (Wildfowl and Wetland Trust) in Gloucestershire, around 9,000 visit Welney WWT in Cambridgeshire, and a reasonable number can be seen at Abberton Reservoir , Essex . Then there are the different species of geese, a group of geese on the ground is known as a 'gaggle' and a group in the air is known as a 'skein'. So what visits and where can we see them: Species Abberton Reservoir , Essex At wetland areas and WWT centres throughout the UK. As well as these many other smaller wildfowl and ducks also visit us during the winter including, Pochard, Wigeons (426,000 adults), Goosander (161,000 adults), Tufted Ducks visit from Iceland and Northern Europe and there are many many more - too many to mention all of them.

Many of these birds settle all over the UK in different locations either in groups or individually. Visiting a wetland, grassland, salt marsh, coastal location you are likely to see them. However sometimes just a pond or lake in your local park or the banks of your local river may have a visitor or two. Birds and particularly wild or feral birds do move about, they do not stay in a single location. Even those that do come into the places we have location guides for and similar move about during the day from the feeding grounds to their roosts. Some places are used as stop-overs, so you may see something in the early part of the migration period but later they will be elsewhere. For this reason it is difficult to pinpoint exactly where you will see something. We have a list of places where you can photograph wild birds which identifies some locations. Prior to making a long distance drive for a visit, it is probably worth taking a look at birding websites such as those of the RSPB and the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT) where you can look for a particular reserve and then check the latest sightings that have been recorded by staff and visitors.

Being wild it is not always possible to get up close to the birds however there are some locations which have positioned hides quite close or at least within range, if you want to definitely snap a close up of particular breed it is then probably worth checking out the WWT centres to see what they have amongst their captive population. As well as the wetland and wildfowl species there are also woodland bird visitors. Many of these birds are small and elusive and many will hide in the woodlands around the UK in the type of woodland that they like to frequent. However there are a couple that you are likely to see in the countryside on our hedgerows feeding on the berries and fruits. If you are lucky enough to have an orchard, or living the country with fruit tress in your garden then you may also see them, and if patient may be able to get close up. Two of the birds which are synonymous with the UK winter is the Fieldfare and Redwing , both are members of the Thrush family, and because of this it can sometimes be difficult to tell them apart. It doesn't help that they do sometimes travel in the same flock.

However, if you get to see them close up the significant difference is that the Fieldfare has a grey head, while the redwing has a brown head and cream/white stripe, which looks like an eyebrow above it's eyes. A colourful bird that also visits us and you may come across in town/city parks as well as the countryside is the Waxwing. For those that are not into birding identifying which bird you are photographing or have photographed can be a challenge, especially when they belong to the same family, like the thrushes. However we have partly solved this by having a comprehensive index of all British birds and visitors to the UK, we have been able to identify. This Bird Index is not only organised by type, but for each type we provide links either to our own wildlife pages and/or to other websites where you will be able to get access to detailed descriptions and photographs/drawings to compare yours against. Bird Library | Wild Bird Species | Vine House Farm Learn More The male of the species is jet black with a bright yellow beak, though the beak colour is more brown on younger birds. The female bird is similar in size but its plumage is brown in colour.

They are very territorial in nature and if other blackbirds encroach on their territory they are very fast in trying to remove them from their patch. They are one of the first birds in the morning to start the dawn chorus and usually the last bird singing in the evening. Learn More The Blackcap is a small bird in the warbler family, the male having a black cap and a greyish under body with a brownish grey back, grey wings and a grey tail, while the female has a brown cap and a brownish body. The song is a delightful warbling sound, albeit not terribly tuneful. Learn More This is a chameleon of the finch family with its changing plumage through the seasons of the year. In the winter the male bird has a streaked head, orange breast plumage and a white rump, in the spring the males head becomes much darker in colour with a rich orangey red colour on his wings and breast. The females are not so bright and cheerful in colour, though have similar patterns in their plumage.

Learn More A fairly large finch compared to other species and also quite shy, the male has a deep pink chest and under parts, black cap and a white rump which is often the only thing seen as it flies off. The female is a greyer version. These birds have the typical strong finch beak and can cause problems to gardeners and soft fruit growers. Learn More The male bird dons spectacular coloured plumage in comparison to the much drabber female bird. They are the second most popular bird in the UK, tending to merge into flocks of all male and all female birds in the winter months. At that particular time of the year they will visit bird tables in large numbers for the seeds and nuts that are provided. However, they tend to be found on the ground foraging for the spilt seeds and nuts that fall from the bird tables and feeders, though will use feeders with circular perches (they find straight perches difficult to balance on). Learn More Both the male and female bird has a black cap, throat and bib. The male bird's bib is slightly larger and triangular in shape in comparison to the female bird. They both have white markings at the back of the head.

Their beaks are smaller than the blue or great tits. It is one of the smallest birds in the UK. Learn More The delicately coloured plumage of the collared dove is a blend of pinkish-sandy browns and greys. Both male and female birds have the black half collar finely outlined with white around the nape of the neck. The young do not develop their collar until after their first moult. Learn More They are sedentary birds (meaning they spend their lives largely in the area they were born) and individual birds living only 30km apart and can sing in a different tone. Both male and female are similar in a brown colour but the male is 20% bigger than the female. They tend to look a bit like Skylarks, thougharen'trelated. Learn More Both male and female are alike in their grey colour but the younger birds tend to be more brown and striped. They can also be identified by their thin bill and orange legs. A very common garden bird, they’re normally seen in individually or in pairs. Sometimes also called a Hedge Sparrow, though they’re not related to Sparrows and actually come from a family of birds called accentors.

Learn More Fieldfares are a large thrush with a grey head, dark chestnut back and a speckled breast. Their bill is similar to that of the blackbird apart from the tip which is black. They are very sociable birds and are generally seen in flocks in the winter months, before returning to their breeding grounds in Northern Europe and Scandinavia. They also often flock with Redwings (which are also a thrush). Learn More These small birds are highly decorated in colour. Their bodies are fawn in colour, their wings are black and white with a flash of yellow and their heads are a vibrant red with flashes of black and white. They have a long beak which enables them to extract seeds from the teasel and thistles, or niger seed in special feeders put out on the garden. Learn More A very distinctive brightly coloured bird with black and white features with a red patch under the tail. The male has a red patch at the back of his head, while the female has a black nape. Younger birds have a red scull cap. Learn More The Green woodpecker is the largest of the three woodpeckers that breeds in the UK.

Unmistakable with distinctive green plumage on its back with a bright red head, with the plumage on its under body a light green. Can be seen feeding on lawns for ants and other insects. Learn More Greenfinches have gradually colonised urban gardens over the last century partly because of the loss of grain and weed seeds due to intensive farming methods. They are identified by their green and yellow plumage, the female being duller in colour. They have a typical seed-eaters powerful triangular beak, are gregarious outside the breeding season, and make a distinctive trilling call. Learn More It is a plump bird with brown back grey flanks and a white chest with an orange face. There is very little difference between male and female birds. The young birds are usually yellowish brown and do lack the markings on the underside of their bodies. Their diet is mainly seed eating however the young do like insects. The parental birds take the young to the edge of the fields to enable them to forage for insects, this being a substantial protein intake for the young birds in their first few days of life. These birds like the ground and when disturbed they will fly up and scatter over a short distance.

They tend to colonise in small groups called coveys after the breeding season. This bird is now in decline due to loss of breeding habitat and food. Learn More The House Martin is a smallish bird with a glossy blue-black back and pure white under parts. It has a forked tail (which has not got the long streamers that a swallow has) with white feathers on its legs. The young are slightly different in colour as they are brown on the rump and have some white mottling on the nape. Learn More The male has a black bib with grey cheeks, crown and rump. The female more uniformly brown with a paler front. Juveniles resemble the female. The House Sparrow has a persistent chirping call, particularly when the male is calling to attract a mate. Groups of House Sparrows often gather in the late afternoon and twitter conversationally until darkness falls. Learn More Both the male and the female are very similar in colour. There is a bold band of blue on the wings, the body is a pale pinkish brown in colour and they also have a black moustache. They have a distinctive screeching call, which often gives the location away of this relatively shy member of the crow family.

Learn More The Kestrel is a member of the falcon family and has pointed wings and a long tail. There are distinct differences between the male and the female Kestrel, with the male being slightly smaller but much more colourful with its grey head, reddish brown back and grey tail with a black tip. Females are speckled brown in colour. Often see hovering along motorway embankments and other open areas where they hunt for mice and voles. Learn More A small, slim bird of the finch family. The males have a red forehead and breast while the females are much duller in colour usually brown. They are a bird of farm and heathland, where they can be seen perching on hedges and shrubs such as gorse. Learn More They have small bodies of what looks like black and white plumage but on closer inspection they are pinkish and their long tail is black in colour. They have a very small beak which is black. These small birds tend to flock together and keep together, and through the winter they stay close to one another to keep warm. They’re also very vocal and continually make a soft chattering sound which helps them ensure they stay as a flock.

Learn More The colour of plumage of this plump little bird is blue/grey upper part with a fawn belly. On the back of the head there is a thick black stripe which follows through to the eye. It has a large bill. Another real give away in identifying this bird is its unusual ability to move down the trunk of a tree head first when looking for food – no other UK bird does this. Learn More The male bird is very brightly coloured with a bright green head and very red face. Their body is brownish with black markings which follow on through into their tail feathers. The females are not so brightly coloured having a mottled plumage of brown and black. The Pheasant in an introduced game bird to our shores and is native to much of Asia. Learn More This bird is small and has black and white feathers with a long tail. An insect eater, it is a bird that darts about, quickly wagging its tail up and down when stood still. Found in many open areas, including supermarket and motorway service station car parks! Learn More Another introduced game bird to the UK, it is larger than the Grey Partridge with a white chin and throat patch, greyish body with bold black flank.

The breast of the bird is blue black, their legs, bill and eye ring are red. The young are similar in colour to the young of the Grey Partridge. Learn More A member of the finch family, the males have a small red cap on their forehead black bib and a bright pink belly which gets brighter in the summer. The females differ slightly with only a small amount of red on the foreheads. Both birds have yellow bills with dark tips. Often flocks and can be seen with Siskins. Learn More This is the smallest member of the thrush family to be seen in the UK. It has red undertones on the underside of its wings and a creamy stripe above its eyes. The back of the bird is dark chocolate in colour so are the upper sides of their wings. A winter migrant from Northern Europe and Scandinavia and often seen in large flocks with Fieldfares. Learn More Similar in size to a Sparrow, the male bird is quite distinctive with a black head and white neck collar and a black moustache under his beak. The female is less distinctive with a dull brown head with a pale stripe below the cheeks. Both have a pale breast and darker upper body and wings.

Learn More One of the most distinctive birds seen in Britain and certainly the best loved. Both male and female birds are identical with their red breast and olive brown upper parts. The juveniles lack the red breast and has a speckled breast. Learn More A member of the crow family, the the base of the rook’s beak has bare skin. Their plumage is black but will shine with a reddish purple tinge when caught in sunlight. They tend to look scruffy in appearance with their fluffy leg feathers. Their beak is pointed and much longer than the similar Carrion Crow. Learn More Both male and female have broad yellow wing bars and the male has a black cap and bib during the summer months. The female is brown and streaky to keep her hidden when on the nest. A small finch which is increasing in numbers across the UK, and is now a regular visitor to many gardens. Learn More A smallish bird with brown feathers, it has a crest which is raised when the Skylark is excited or alarmed. The wing tips are tinged with white and the tail also has white on the sides. This bird is well known for its spectacular vertical flight, where it produces its beautiful song which is its most distinguishing feature.

Learn More Females are larger than the males and they differ slightly in colour. They both have striped under parts but the male has a blue back and the female's back is brown. Their wings are broad and rounded and with their long tail they are able to fly in between trees and branches at great speed. Learn More Both birds are the same in colour with a greyish brown body and the under parts of their wings being pale, and therefore are difficult to tell apart. Despite the bird’s name, the young are the only ones to have a spotted plumage. The bird perches on branches and fence posts in order to catch their prey, and make distinctive circular flights to catch insects as they pass and fly straight back to the same perch. A summer migrant to the UK, Spotted Flycatcher numbers have dropped dramatically in recent decades. Learn More The plumage is shiny black with white speckles during winter, revealing purple and greens glints in the summer sunshine. The young are grey-brown until their first moult. Numbers have declined somewhat in the last few years but it is still possible to witness the sensational aerobatic display of thousands of these birds as they prepare to roost on winter evenings.

A vast cloud of thousands of birds can swirl and swoop in perfect unison as each bird follows those beside it. Learn More The Stonechat is similar in size to the robin. The male has a vivid black head with white patches on either side of its neck and a bright orange/red breast. The female bird has a brown head rather than black but otherwise is the same colour as the male.

Question: Two members of the 'Thrush' family visit Britain in huge numbers during the winter. If one is the 'Fieldfare', what is the other?
Answer: REDWING